Have fun listening to a new language

A única pergunta que nossos alunos nos fazem o tempo todo é: "Como eu REALMENTE aprendo um idioma? Como posso me tornar fluente?"

E sempre gostamos de compartilhar esta regra simples: "O que entra, é o que sai".

In other words, in order to be able to produce language, first you have to develop strong receptive language skills. We can formulate this idea in different ways, like Stephen Krashen did with his theory of “comprehensible input.” Less technically, it means we should be asking our students to read and listen in the target language — a lot.

Your brain is magical. It can take other peoples’ words that you hear, and then mix them up, reorganize them, turn them into your own thoughts and words. Your brain is like a transmuter of language. But, just like an alchemist, your brain can’t do any magic if you don’t supply it with the right ingredients. Comprehensible input creates comprehensible output. If you starve your brain, or if you fill it up with nonsense, you’re not going to be happy with the result.

O que entra é o que sai.

For learners, it’s often the case that our reading is better than our listening, especially for people who learn through classes or apps. So we really need more listening practice. And that’s where Roxxem comes in.

Instead of just flashcards, Roxxem focuses on teaching meaningful chunks of language in context — with real music. Train your ear, and voice, on the real phrases and expressions being used in the world’s most popular songs. Hear language at the real speed that people speak.

That’s how to really improve your listening skills. And you’ll have fun while doing it :)

Por que aprender um novo idioma? Porque queremos usá-lo. Para conversar com pessoas de outro país. Para ler boa literatura. Para ouvir boa música.

That’s what learning language is all about. But sometimes — too often — that gets lost. We’ve seen way too many students bored out of their minds doing grammar worksheets. We don’t think this is the best way to learn. But even more importantly, we don’t think it’s what truly matters.

Ultimately, we believe that language isn’t an end in itself, but a means to a much more fundamental end. Language is a key. We can spend years forging that key, but it’s wasted if we don’t use it to open the gate of the treasure house. The treasures are culture and community.

Eles são as músicas que cantamos e as histórias que nos ensinam.

We think this is huge. Learning should be fun; not only does fun motivate, it also makes learning more effective.

Music is inherently compelling. Instead of doing rote exercises in a textbook, sing along to “Despacito”, “Papaoutai”, or “小苹果”. That’s already awesome.

But with Roxxem, you don’t just listen to music. You are immersed in it; you interact with it. That’s because Roxxem is designed from the ground up to be a game.

Cada música e lição do Roxxem é, na verdade, um jogo no estilo arcade. Vença a música lembrando-se da letra... ou perca-a dizendo as coisas erradas. Use power-ups em momentos cruciais para obter uma vitória ou se salvar da derrota. Domine a música para obter uma pontuação alta e competir com outros jogadores na tabela de classificação.

Por fim, queremos que o Roxxem seja um jogo de interpretação de papéis em que você leva seu personagem em uma jornada de aprendizado musical. Aumente o nível de seu personagem junto com sua audição. Personalize seu personagem para que ele se pareça com sua estrela pop favorita; ganhe poderes e itens relacionados ao idioma.

We think that’s going to be so fun.